Making Every Dollar Count: Couponing 411

    These days everything is getting more expensive. Gas, electricity, and even groceries and household supplies are jumping in price. Rather than begrudgedly paying astronomatical amounts to feed a family of four, it is time to start couponing.

    Everyone has heard of couponing. In fact, most people see them in the Sunday paper each week but don’t take the time to cut and file them away. Why? For the most part, it seems like too much work and not enough reward.


    Unbeknownst to many, there is more to couponing than sitting at the table on a Sunday afternoon with a pair of scissors and clipping the ads. Most major food chains, such as Kroger and Publix allow you to download coupons directly to the store shopper’s card.

    Cellfire, Smartcuts, P&Gesaver, and UPromise each offer monthly downloadable coupons that apply to your bill when checking out. Then, if you also bring in either printed coupons from SmartSource or newspaper coupons, you can stack the savings. You can even get things for free.

    The website southernsavers provides helpful hints to couponing, plus the breakdown of weekly specials. The author of this site takes the work out of couponing and makes it easy enough even for the working mom. She also provides weekly menus based on the best deals.

    Rite-aid and Walgreens are also great places to save. Both stores make the weekly circular available online, which means you don't necessarily need to buy a paper.

   Rite-aid currently has over $600 worth of rebates available within the store. Rebates are a pain, right? Well, Rite-aid makes it super easy by enabling the shopper to quickly put in the receipt number, store number, and register number to ensure expidited delivery of rebates. No more filling out forms and mailing them off.

    Last week, for example, shoppers could get over $70 worth of seasonal medications for free. Of course, the shopper has to be able to front the money, but in two weeks all the money will come back via rebate checks.

    Couponing does take time, but it is worth it.